Dave Cieslewicz up, Bishop Robert Morlino down

November 2, 2006

3:46 PM

UP: Dave Cieslewicz. The mayor's plan to fence off State Street and charge Halloween revelers $5 is a success. About 32,000 tickets were sold, raising $160,000, and for the first time in four years, the event didn't end with police using pepper spray to disperse drunken mobs. The only snafu was that half the security guards promised by a private firm didn't show up and city staff had to fill in. Now that's a party.

DOWN: Bishop Robert Morlino. The autocratic head of the Madison Diocese orders pastors to play a pre-recorded sermon by him this Sunday, just before the election, relaying his views against the death penalty and stem-cell research and in favor of the amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions. Morlino, in a letter, also warns that priests who show 'any verbal or nonverbal expression of disagreement' with these positions could face 'serious consequences.' Yes, sir!